Mitsui to build, run Indonesia’s Kalibaru container terminal

Indonesia Port Corporation (IPC) has picked Mitsui & Co. Ltd. of Japan to operate the first container terminal in Kalibaru, north Jakarta, Indonesia.

Mitsui will construct, finance, and operate the new terminal, said Richard Joost Lino, president director of state-owned IPC, also known as PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II, in a press release.

Under their agreement, Mitsui will begin operating its ships at the Kalibaru container terminal by September 2014, according to an IPC press release.

Mitsui is also set to bring in major shipping lines to the port such as NYK, Evergreen, Hanjin, and APL, according to a report by the Jakarta Post.

The Kalibaru container terminal will double the capacity at the congested Tanjung Priok Port, Lino said. He added that the terminal is the first in Indonesia to have the capacity to serve the largest container ships in existence today.

Pelindo II will also seek partners for the construction of two container terminals and a fuel terminal in Kalibaru. The total cost of the Kalibaru port project is about US$2.5 billion.